Sweden-based SCA has acquired an additional 5 percent of the shares in the leading Chinese tissue company Vinda. The purchase price is around 600 million SEK.

The seller in the transaction is Fu An, a company majority owned by Mr. Li, the Chairman of Vinda. SCA’s share in Vinda after the transaction will be 22.6%.

Vinda is one of the most successful tissue producers in China, the second largest tissue market in the world. Currently, Vinda commands strong brand recognition in the country and being the third largest player in the China household paper industry in terms of market share and production capacity. The company has eight production facilities with a total production capacity of 470,000 tons and targeting to reach 1 million tons in the coming years.

“The market for tissue products in China continues to grow well and continues to consolidate with the larger players, like Vinda, growing at a significantly faster speed than the market,” says Jan Johansson, SCA’s president and CEO. “We intend to be among the leading players in China and we have for this reason taken the decision to increase our ownership in Vinda.”

The transaction is subject to receiving consent from some of Vinda’s lending banks. Vinda is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.